The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to cameras and accessory belt clips. More specifically, the invention relates to a one-time-use camera with an accessory belt clip connected to a film door and that avoids being broken when the film door is broken open to remove a film cartridge from the camera.
Film and cameras that are all in one, commonly referred to as disposable single-use or one-time-use cameras, have become well known. The one-time-use camera is a simple point-and-shoot type camera comprising a conventional film cartridge within a cartridge receiving chamber in a main body part, an unexposed film roll prewound from the film cartridge onto a film supply spool within a film supply chamber in the main body part, a film-exposing backframe opening between the cartridge receiving and film supply chambers in the main body part, a fixed-focus taking lens, a film metering mechanism with a rotatably supported metering sprocket that has respective sprocket teeth for engaging the filmstrip at successive film perforations, a manually rotatable film winding thumbwheel coaxially engaged with a film winding spool inside the film cartridge, a single-blade shutter, a manually depressible shutter release button, an exposure counter wheel that has a numerical series of evenly spaced exposure count indicia and is incrementally rotated to successively view the exposure count indicia, an anti-backup pawl that engages the exposure counter wheel to prevent its reverse rotation, a direct see-through viewfinder having front and rear viewfinder lenses, and in some models an electronic flash. A pair of separate front and rear cover parts house the main body part between them to complete the camera. The rear cover part connects to the main body part and/or to the front cover part to make the main body part light-tight. A decorative cardboard outer box or label at least partially covers the front and rear cover parts and has respective openings for the taking lens, etc.
After each picture is taken with the one-time-use camera, the photographer manually rotates the thumbwheel in a film winding direction to similarly rotate the film winding spool inside the film cartridge. This winds an exposed frame of the filmstrip from the backframe opening into the film cartridge and advances an unexposed frame of the filmstrip from the unexposed film roll to the backframe opening. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of slightly more than one frame width rotates the metering sprocket in engagement with the filmstrip to decrement the exposure counter wheel to its next lower-numbered indicia and to pivot a metering lever into engagement with the thumbwheel in order to prevent further manual rotation of the thumbwheel in the film winding direction. Manually depressing the shutter release button to take another picture pivots the metering lever out of engagement with the thumbwheel to permit renewed rotation of the thumbwheel in the film winding direction. When the maximum number of exposures available on the filmstrip have been made and the filmstrip is completely wound into the film cartridge, the one-time-use camera is given to a photofinisher who breaks away a cover door portion of the rear cover part from the main body part and removes the film cartridge with the exposed filmstrip from the cartridge receiving chamber. Then, he removes the exposed filmstrip from the film cartridge to develop the latent images and make prints for the customer. An example of the break-away feature of the rear cover part is disclosed in U.S. patent Ser. No. 6,097,890 issued Aug. 1, 2000, which is incorporated in this application.
Rather than carry the one-time-use camera in one""s pocket, one may use a belt clip or the like to hang the camera on one""s belt or shirt pocket. If the belt clip remains attached to the camera when the camera is given to a photofinisher, the belt clip may be broken when the photofinisher breaks away the cover door portion of the rear cover part from the main body part to remove the film cartridge from the camera. Since the belt clip can be reused, it is preferable not to break it when the cover door portion is broken open.
According to one aspect of the invention, a one-time-use camera comprises:
a rear cover part that has an integral door cover portion and an integral remaining cover portion, that is weakened between the door and remaining cover portions to allow the door cover portion to be pivoted open relative to the remaining cover portion to permit a film cartridge to be removed from the camera, and that has a carrystrap post on the door cover portion; and
an accessory belt clip that has a plurality of co-acting fingers which are spaced apart less than a thickness of the carrystrap post and are resiliently flexible away from one another to be able to engage the carrystrap post to releasably grip the carrystrap post, and that rests against the remaining cover portion when the co-acting fingers releasably grip the carrystrap post, in order that when the door cover portion is pivoted open the carrystrap post will rotate within the grip of the co-acting fingers and simultaneously the accessory belt clip will slide along the remaining cover portion to avoid breaking the accessory belt clip.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of opening a camera to remove a film cartridge from the camera comprises:
pivoting a door cover portion of a rear cover part relative to a remaining cover portion of the rear cover part to swing the door cover portion open to permit the film cartridge to be removed; and
rotating a carrystrap post, on the door cover portion, within an end-grip of an accessory belt clip, attached to the cover door portion at the carrystrap post, as the door cover portion is pivoted open, in order to avoid breaking the accessory belt clip.